Welcome to the MEL Institute

• 03.10.09
• Submitted by Udo Dierk

We are delighted to introduce you to the MEL-Institute, an applied research center that has the goal of exploring the role of personnel archetypes in guiding and operating the challenges of the modern institution. Our initial work has centered on the actions of managers, entrepreneurs and leaders (MEL) in sustaining innovation in the global corporation. The genesis for founding the Institute came primarily from our experience of observing many organizations struggle to balance dealing with current complexities while – at the same time — preparing for future change.

Raison d’être

Inability to attain this delicate balance has resulted in many otherwise adept companies failing in rapidly changing markets. Recent business history is replete with firms who have either gone to the corporate graveyard (e.g., Digital Equipment Corporation; Wang; Siemens-Nixdorf) or are now sadly diminished (e.g., Polaroid; Kodak). Over many years of observing and working with both SME’s and large international corporations, the MEL founders – Dr. Udo Dierk and Dr. Phil Dover – became fascinated by the concept of the ambidextrous organization and by the formal and informal roles played by various personnel in longitudinally guiding the firm. In particular, we became interested in the integrative impact of three archetypes – managers, entrepreneurs and leaders – in sustaining the fortunes of the organization.

Early Questions

If managers, entrepreneurs and leaders bring different capabilities to their company roles, we are intrigued to understand the combination of these skills required to guide the short and long term development of the organization.  Can we estimate the best skill weighting for current optimization as well as future change management? Can we develop measurement tools that assess the balance of skills contained within members of an executive group and within the group as a whole? How does attaining (or failing to attain) this skill balance impact the innovation profile of the organization? Our pilot work suggests some tentative answers to these questions.

Our Approach

Although at a very early stage of development, we are intent on bridging the interests of both academics and practitioners in our research initiative. We feel that this topic of guiding the ambidextrous organization is of such importance that we welcome comments on our early work and encourage visitors to suggest ways to expand and improve the project. We invite you to join us on this exciting research journey!

Vision, Mission and Value Proposition

Please have a look to our vision and ambitions for the MEL-Institute .